CCPM Project Management

- A Proven Method for Dramatically Improving Project Performance -

Henry Kunkel The Boeing Company May, 2009

Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

Discussion Topics
The Program Managers Dilemma CCPM Project Management - A Different Focus
Comparison of Traditional PM to CCPM Buffer Management

Space Shuttle CCPM Projects

Software Development Hardware Development Engineering Technical Document Development

Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

pg. 2

The Program Managers Dilemma

When a new project arrives or a change occurs to an existing project, managers face a dilemma:
Necessary Condition
W em us t

Pre-requisite We must

Meet (Near Term) Current Threatened Commitments

Do Whatever It Takes

The GOAL

Successful Projects (cost, content, schedule)

Conflict
We mu st

Necessary Condition
.

Dont Jeopardize Other (Long Term) Commitments

We must

Dont Do Whatever It Takes

Pre-requisite

The PMs response to normal project variation affects:

Team behaviors Project planning and execution Performance on both current and future projects
Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

pg. 3

What is Critical Chain Project Management ?

1

A new method of Project Management based on Theory of Constraints. It is an alternative to the Critical Path Method.
Planning
Plan worked backward from completion with each task starting as late as possible Task durations are planned at the 50% probability duration and evaluated at the 90-95% level. Resource leveling leads to the critical chain with the identification of schedule buffers to handle normal schedule variations

Execution
Critical chain is the race, and the resources on the critical chain are the runners, so pressure is put on the resources to complete the critical chain tasks as quickly as possible

Monitoring and Control

Focuses on the consumption rate of the schedule buffers rather than individual task performance to schedule

Project Environment / Culture

Changes organizational behavior to eliminate fire fighting and waste associated with multitasking of finite resources on the critical chain.
1

Based on a book entitled, Critical Chain. Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

pg. 4

Traditional vs. CCPM Project Management Comparison

Traditional Critical Path Schedule View
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 11

A1 AB1

Critical Path = Longest sequence of activities in a network

B1
Resources start as early As possible

B2

B3 B4
Resource Conflicts Ignored

C1 AB2 B6

AB3 A2

B5

Critical Chain is Primary Focus Lean PM Schedule View

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Weeks 11 9 Critical Chain = Longest set of dependent activities, with explicit
consideration of resource availability

10

12

A1

Buffer AB1 B1 B2 B3

Get Ready Notifications B5 B6

C1

AB2

B4

AB3

Pooled Safety Margin

A2

Buffer

No Resource Conflicts

This buffer is needed to protect the project for normal task variation. pg. 5

Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

CCPM Management Project Buffer Status Report

Percentage Project Buffer Consumed vs. Percent CC Complete
100

Percentage of Safety Margin Consumed

Management action taken Management action taken To assist team recover To assist team recover
d d tifie n e i e f i d it re en a d s i n plaare n o s ti iga an Mit n pl o ati g i t Mi

50

Team members actively work Team members actively to recover buffer work to recover buffer

50 Percentage of Critical Chain Completed Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

100

pg. 6

Space Shuttle CCPM Software Development Project

Problem
Prattle code is a software product used to develop heating environments for the Space Shuttles wing. Prior to completing the Prattle CCPM project, an Excel based spreadsheet was used to develop the environments. This process was labor intensive, hard to error check and subject to process escapes.

Resolution Approach
Develop software code and put the program under Configuration Management Execute project using Critical Chain Project Management

Results
Project completed 12-42% ahead of schedule Chief Engineer praised the quality of the software program and support specification and verification documents

Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

pg. 7

Space Shuttle CCPM Software Development Project

Project Buffer, %

Perform ahead of ideal schedule and Finish up in GREEN for project

Reflects Special Cause variation Team chose not to re-baseline the project.

Critical Chain, %
Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

pg. 8

Space Shuttle CCPM Hardware Development Project

Problem
Customer required cargo integration hardware be delivered in a reduced schedule to meet Space Shuttle flight manifest Cargo Integration Hardware team had been having challenges meeting previous commitments due to late customer changes, vendor reliability and competing priorities Project involved over twenty-two different functional areas and two outside vendors

Resolution Approach
CIH team identified potential execution issues and mitigated them All functional managers and team members were introduced to CCPM and their support to use this method was obtained Team established Execution Run Rules to ensure the team stayed focused Team members subordinated their work to the effort on the critical chain and actively managed the buffers

Results
Hardware delivered early, under budget and exceeded quality expectations
Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

pg. 9

Space Shuttle CCPM Hardware Development Project

Project finished ~36% ahead of schedule and ~20% under budget

Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

pg. 10

Space Shuttle Engineering Document Development Project

Problem
In April, 2008, our customer required the Space Shuttle design data books be updated by the end of September to avoid a significant impact to our award fee. Due to higher customer priorities, many of these documents had not been updated since the Return to Flight effort in 2003, and therefore represented a significant effort. Preliminary projections using traditional project management methods indicated it could take up to a year before all of these books would be completed.

Resolution Approach
Team adopted CCPM believing it offered them the best opportunity for finishing on schedule All of the required updates were identified for each data book Knowledge resources were identified for each data book update in order to establish aggressive durations and define the critical chain for the project All resources were trained on CCPM processes and procedures Execution Run Rules were established and executed by the team Weekly buffer management meetings were conducted and actions taken as needed

Results
All data book updates completed within five months, a 58% schedule reduction. Customer expectations were exceeded
Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

pg. 11

Space Shuttle Engineering Document Development Project

When project was ~65% complete team realized they were going to finish significantly early and elected to add more content to the product than originally promised to increase award fee.

Copyright 2009 The Boeing Company. All rights reserved.

pg. 12